' E 







$Mt of §m foils, 



COMMUNICATION 



FROM 



MAJOR GENERAL DIX, 



RELATIVE TO THE ARREST 



OP 



HAWLEY D, CLAPP. 



TRANSMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE APRIL 13, 1884, 



ALBANY: 

OOMSTOCK & CASSIDY, PRINTERS, 
1864. 






6i50i 






tah of fjiu f otL 



No. 93. 



IN SENATE, 

JSjpril 13, 1864. 



COMMUNICATION 



FROM MAJOR GENERAL DIX, RELATIVE TO THE ARREST OP 
HAW LEY D. CLAPP. 

Headquarters, Department of the East, ? 
New York City, April 11, 1864. \ 

Hon. Charles J. Folger, Chairman: 

Sir — Your note of the 9th, inst., was received yesterday, and 
it affords me pleasure to furnish you with the facts and circum- 
stances attending the arrest and imprisonment of Hawley D. 
Clapp. 

When your note came to hand, I was completing a report to 
the Secretary of War, (a copy of which, with accompanying pa- 
pers, I inclose) giving a detailed statement of the atrocious frauds 
committed upon recruits in this city, and particularly at Lafayette 
Hall, where Mr. Clapp was the principal bounty-broker, one of a 
class of agents, who were brought into existence by the system 
adopted by the committee of the board of supervisors, for procur- 
ing recruits, whose services were entirely unnecessary, and whose 
principal vocation, either by their own direct action or through 
confederates, was to cheat men entering the service, out of their 
bounties. The committee, when the frauds had become too pal- 
pable and too extensive to be borne, obviated the evil, as far as 
they could, by the adoption of proper precautions, but not until 
a military order had been issued, requiring the full amount of 
bounty to be paid to the recruit. 

My report to the Secretary of War, enters into a full detail of 
these transactions, alike disgraceful to those who were concerned 
in them, and to the community in the bosom of which they occur- 
red. Mr. Clapp received from the committee of the supervisors, 

[Senate, No. 93.] 1 



2 [Senate 

the bounties for a large number of recruits, ($300 each) who, as 
shown by testimony satisfactory to me, were cheated out of the 
greater part of it, by him, or the parties confederated with him 
in the business. As the money was paid into his hands, I consider 
him responsible for it; and I have deemed it my duty, whenever 
a clear case of fraud was made out, to see the soldier redressed, 
if possible. 

It is only by the summary process of a military arrest, that 
these fraudulent transactions can be reached. If they are 
brought into the civil courts, all remedy is hopeless. The re- 
cruits are the only witnesses, and the exigencies of the country 
will not permit them to be kept from the field. 

The only alternatives, therefore, were to allow these stupendous 
frauds to go unredressed, to let the patriotic men, who are offer- 
ing their lives on the altar of their country, be robbed of the 
provision which their fellow citizens have made for their families, 
and to suffer the plunderers to escape with their ill-gotten gains, 
or to take, as I have done, some of the principal agents in these 
frauds into custody, to be held till they make restitution. 

The amount of which recruits were defrauded at Lafayette Hall, 
where and while Mr. Clapp was chief broker, cannot fall short of 
^400,000. I have succeeded in recovering about $20,000, and am 
not without hope of adding largely to the amount. 

I am fully aware of the responsibility I have taken in these 
cases, and that the exercise of the power of arrest is only war- 
ranted by the circumstances in which the country is placed, and 
the special facts which my report to the Secretary of War dis- 
closes. It has been exerted in a few cases only, and with the 
confident assurance in each, that I should be sustained by the 
Government, and by the public judgment. 

Although it is technically true, as Mr. Clapp states in his peti- 
tion to the Legislature, that "he has not held at any time office 
under the Government, or had any contracts with the Govern- 
ment" itself, he stood in his capacity as bounty broker, in relation 
to the military service, of which he seems to appreciate neither 
the scope nor the force. Lafayette Hall, in which his agency was 
transacted, was occupied for military purposes; it was guarded 
by sentinels, and the acts for which he was arrested, were per- 
formed within the lines; it was, for all essential purposes, a camp, 
and he was within it, furnished with ollice room and other con- 
veniences for himself and clerks, and engaged in paying recruits 



No. 93.] 3 

their bounties as chief broker, under an appointment, not directly 
from the Government, but from General Spinola, the commanding- 
officer. He was personally engaged in services of a strictly mili- 
tary character, and standing in a much nearer relation to the 
Government than many classes of camp followers and retainers, 
who are by act of Congress, subject to martial law. My own 
judgment is strongly inclined to the conclusion, that he may be 
tried by court martial ; and if he has not been brought before 
one ere this, one chief reason is, that I desired to satisfy myself 
by consulting the course of proceedings in analogous cases, that 
I should not err in holding him to account before such a tribunal 
for the acts with which he is charged. 

Almost every imaginable form of outrage and deception has 
been developed in the cases, in which Mr. Clapp was agent for 
the payment of bounties. Men, both white and colored, were 
offered employment as teamsters, wagon-masters and officers' ser- 
vants, receiving from $20 to $50, as "pay in advance," and find- 
ing themselves enlisted as private soldiers, while Mr. Clapp re- 
ceived from $300 to $315, in each case. With what confederates 
the money was divided, he and they only can tell. 

I have considered it enough that it was received by him, and 
not paid to the recruits, who were entitled to it. In some cases, 
boys have been seduced from their homes to secure their enlist. 
ment ; in others, men have been drugged, and enlisted while un- 
conscious; in others, they have been promised furloughs, and, 
where the full bounty was not paid, they have been told, that 
they would receive the balance, as soon as they arrived at Riker's 
Island. In short, there is no artifice or fraud which has not been 
resorted to, in carrying out this system of pillage. In one case 
reported to these headquarters, by Mr. Supervisor Blunt, Mr. 
Clapp was compelled to make restitution, and his conduct was 
such that he was not allowed to transact business with the super- 
visors in his own name, but continued it in the name of other 
parties. 

I feel convinced that no class of men would be likely to take 
part in these outrages upon our gallant soldiers, or sympathize 
with the perpetrators, unless they cherished a secret sympathy 
with those who are endeavoring, by force of arms, to overthrow 
and destroy the government of their countiy. 

Mr. Clapp has been treated since his confinement, with a leni- 
ency he does not deserve. He has had the same food as the men 



4 [Senate 

whom he lias defrauded, and is much more comfortably lodged 
and sheltered. His counsel has been permitted to hold two pri- 
vate interviews with him, a privilege not usually grunted to the 
inmates of Fort Lafayette. I have indulged the hope that he 
would consent to disclose the names of* others, more prominent 
than himself, who are believed to' have participated in his fraudu- 
lent gains. He is not held for this purpose alone, but with the 
further view to compel complete restitution to those he has 
wronged, when the extent of the frauds in which he is implicated , 
shall be ascertained, and also for trial and punishment, if it shall 
I decided that he is amenable to a military court. It has afforded 
me pleasure to comply with the request of your committee, and I 
earnestly hope that the disclosures I have- made', may lead to 
Bome legislative provision to secure to recruits, the bounties in- 
tended to be paid to them. I take the liberty of stating, that 
in some instances, the authorities of towns have, of the $300 
d for bounties, "voted $100 to the recruit, and $200 to the 
broker or runner; a temptation to cupidity, which has led to 
every species of unfairness, deception and fraud. 

I am satisfied that the Legislature could never have anticipa- 
ted so gross a w r rong to recruits, to tax payers and the public ser- 
vice, and that suitable restraints will be imposed upon local 
authorities. 

I have the honor also to transmit herewith, a certified copy of 
the order under which Mr. Clapp was sent to Fort Lafayette, by 
Brig. Gen'l Stannard, commanding New York city and harbor. 
I am very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOHN A. 1)1 X, Major General. 



Headqcartkhs, Department of the East. I 
New Yokk City, Jljjril, 1864. \ 

Hon. E. M. Stanton, 

retary of War, Washington, D. C. : 

Sir — On the 2d of January, I addressed a communication to 
you in regard to recruiting frauds, and enclosed a copy of another 
which I addressed on the same day to Col. fry, Provost Marshal 
1 ral. 

When I was informed that recruits were defrauded of their 
- at Lafayette Hall. I sent for General Spinola and coat- 



No. 93.] 5 

mimicated to him the information I had received. He denied the 
truth of the statements, and assured me that the recruiting regu- 
lations were fully complied with; that no man was enlisted with- 
out being fully apprised of the nature of the service in which he 
was engaging; that no recruit was defrauded of his bounty, and 
that where a less sum than that allowed by the county was paid, 
it was always by voluntary and amicable agreement with the 
broker. I had no authority, as commander of the department, to 
interfere with the recruiting service ; but the repetition of the 
complaints of fraud became so frequent, that I felt it my duty to 
interpose, so far as to ascertain what ground there was for tliem. 
Besides the wrong to recruits in defrauding them of their bounty, 
I found that men were induced to enlist by false representations 
from the broker, through whom they were presented, and that 
persons physically disqualified for military duty were mustered 
into the service in great numbers. Old men, boys and persons 
laboring under incurable diseases were, in numerous instances, 
thrust into the service under this system of public plunder, alike 
fraudulent to the recruits and the government. 

I sent for General Spinola several times, and always received 
from him the assurance that all was fairly conducted by the offi- 
cers at Lafayette Hall. The evidence to the contrary became so 
conclusive, that I directed Lieut. Cole and the contract surgeon, 
Dr. Kerrigan, to be arrested. They have since been tried; the 
former dismissed the service, and the latter, who holds no mili- 
tary commission, disqualified for future employment. In my inter- 
views with General Spinola, I objected to the whole system of 
brokerage, as calculated to prevent instead of promoting enlist- 
ments. It was my opinion that public complaints of fraud in 
the payment of bounties,' would in many cases deter men from 
presenting themselves as voluteers, and that the ranks of the 
army would be filled with recruits who, feeling that the Govern- 
ment bad permitted them to be cheated b} r its own officers, 
would be very apt to consider themselves released from their en- 
gagements, and would not hesitate to desert at the first opportu- 
nity. 

General Spinola defended the system of brokerage, and said 
thai without it the Government would get no recruits. The re- 
sult has been precisely the reverse. Since measures have been 
taken to secure the recruits the whole bounty to which they are 
entitled, the number of enlistments has been greatly augmented, 



6 [Senate 

and a better class of men secured. See letters from Gen. Jack- 
son and Capt. Shannon, A. A. G., marked "A' 7 and " B." 

The bounty, in the payment of which these frauds have been 
committed, is that paid by the city and county of New York, 
amounting to $300 per man with a fee of $15 to the person pre- 
senting the recruit, in case the recruit be white. About 2,000 
men were recruited by General Spinola before he was relieved 
from the recruiting service. The average amount of bounty paid 
to them, as he stated in an explanation volunteered to one of my 
staff officers, (see letter of Major Halpine, A. A. G., marked, 
'• Exhibit C ") and as further examinations showed, was about 
$100 per man. The other $200 per man, has been plundered by 
brokers and their coadjutors. Of the $000,000 which should 
have been paid to these recruits, they only received about 
$200,000, and the enormous sum of $400,000 has been plundered 
by brokers and their associates. 

It is one of the most stupendous frauds ever committed in this 
country. The funds from which the bounties were intended to 
be paid, were raised on securities which are a lien upon the pro- 
perty of the city. The bounty was intended to go to the recruit 
a- an inducement to him to expose his life in upholding the Gov- 
ernment against treason, and as a provision for his family. It has 
gone for the most part into the hands of public plunderers, some of 
whom are of notoriously infamous character, and one of whom 
is known to be a liberated convict, who has been an inmate of 
the States prison. Among- the men engaged in these frauds was 
Theodore Allen, who was brought to my headquarters and re- 
funded $200 taken by him from a recruit. Other cases of fraud 
committed by him were subsequently brought to my notice, and 
orders for his arrest were given, but he has eluded the pursuit of 
the officers of justice. I annex a letter from the superintendent 
of the police, (marked "Exhibit D ") stating that he "has been 
known to the police of the city for at least ten years/' that "his 
reputation in the force is that of a thief;" and that he kept "a 
gambling house before engaging in the substitute broker business." 
This man swears that "he was well known to Mr. Brennan, the 
comptroller, and to the supervisors," and that, "through the 
friendship of the comptroller, and at his suggestion, and with the 
approval of the supervisors, these enlistment blanks, thus count- 
ersigned (see next paragraph) were given by the supervisors in 
person to deponent (Allen.) This man may be regarded, in his 



No. 93.] 1 

leading characteristics portrayed by the superintendent of police, 
as a type of the group of depredators who were engaged in plun- 
dering recruits. 

The system inaugurated by the committee of the board of 
supervisors was, unfortunately, well calculated to give effect to 
these frauds. Papers were issued in blank and authenticated by 
the signature of one of the committee, and it was only on the 
return of these papers, in each case, that the bounty was paid. 
It was paid by them to the broker, and not to the recruit. The 
papers were given only to a limited number of persons, so that 
the business of furnishing recruits and of plundering them of 
their bounties was, to a great extent, a monopoly. I called the 
attention of the chairman of the committee of the board, at an 
early day, to the mischievous consequences of this system, and 
the committee subsequently remedied it by requiring the broker, 
or holder of the paper, before paying him the bounty, to produce 
a certificate of a mustering officer that it had all been paid to 
the recruit ; but the old practice was continued without redress, 
until the enormous sum I have mentioned was obtained, through 
deception and fraud, by the holders of these papers, which were, 
in effect, drafts at sight on the supervisors; and so valuable were 
they considered, that they were in many cases, sold at a premium 
of from $25 to $75 by the first holders, the purchasers relying on 
his ability to cheat the recruit out of a sufficient sum to repay 
the premium, and make a handsome profit for himself. 

General Spinola, while defending the conduct of his officers, 
and asserting the salutary working of the system of brokerage, 
requested me to send some of my staff to Lafayette Hall, to see 
in what manner the business of recruiting was conducted. Seve- 
ral of them were sent by me at different times, and it w T as on 
their statements that Lieutant Cole and Doctor Kerrigan were 
arrested and brought to trial : See statement of Captain Rives, 
A. I). C, herewith transmitted, marked "Exhibit E." The offi- 
cials by whom this system of fraud was continued, after they 
were cognizant of the frauds committed, and who permitted it to 
go on without interposing their authority to arrest it, must be 
held, under my view of the subject, as participators in the wrong, 
even though they may have derived no pecuniary benefit from it. 
The whole system is a stain upon the community in which it has 
been tolerated, and the disgrace can only be removed by the most 
determined and persevering efforts, not only to bring to punish" 



8 [Senate 

mcnt all concerned in it, but for recover to the gallant men who 
are exposing their lives in the field, to preserve the existence of 
the government, the money of which they have been defrauded 
by heartless villains, who have neither the virtue nor the courage 
to sustain the country against its enemies, but who make a mer- 
cenary and criminal profit by plundering its defenders. 

I have not hesitated, when these frauds have been clearly 
proved, to arrest the perpetrators, and to hold them in custody 
until they have repaid the amounts they have fraudulently ob- 
tained, satisfied that I should be supported in so doing, by the 
Government and the public judgment. I have recovered and 
paid over to the parties defrauded, or deposited in bank until 
their orders for payment can be obtained, about $20,000. I hope 
to secure a much larger amount; and I desire to acknowledge 
the very efficient aid I have received from Marshal Murray and 
his deputies, in arresting the criminal authors. of these frauds 
and compelling restitution. 

I found in numerous instances, that the brokers have made 
written contracts with recruits, to enlist for sums less than the 
bounty allowed by the city and county. I have treated all such 
contracts as void, for want of consideration; and in nearly every 
case, an investigation has shown that they were obtained by false 
representations. 

The outrages practiced on recruits are too intolerable to be 
borne with equanimity, and in some cases, too loathsome to be 
detailed. 

Boys have been seduced from their families, enticed into oyster 
houses, drugged, and then enlisted in a state of semi-unconcious- 
ness. Two were so badly drugged that they died, one, the very 
night of their arrival at Riker's Island, and the other on the fol- 
lowing day. I have taken, in some of the worst cases, the 
responsibility of discharging these boys, where subsequent medi- 
cal examinations showed them to be unfit for active service, 
requiring them to refund all the bounty left in their hands by the 
plunderers. It is deeply to be regretted that in nearly every 
instance the latter succeeded in eluding detection. 

The brokers and runners have frequently, in order to facilitate 
their schemes of depredation, put on the uniform of the army, 
representing themselves as officers authorized to enlist recruits, 
promising them furloughs after their enlistment, and inducing 
them to leave the greater part, sometimes nearly the whole, of 



No. 93.] 9 

the bounty in their hands. In such cases, I have not only com- 
pelled them to repay the moneys thus fraudently obtained, but 
taking them at their own word as members of the army and re- 
quiring them to produce their commissions, and their authority to 
recruit, I have, on their failure to sustain the assumed character, 
sent them to the forts as prima facie deserters. 

These stringent measures have nearly broken up this whole 
system of fraudulent recruiting. But a great wrong has been done 
to individuals and the service, and it is impossible, wholly, to 
repair it. I shall, nevertheless, persevere in my efforts to dis- 
cover all the guilty parties, and to compel restitution wherever 
the evidence is sufficiently clear to warrant the exercise of the 
requisite authority. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed,) JOHN A. DIX, 

Maj. Gen. Commanding. 
Official copy. 

Chas. G. Halpine, Major and Asst. Adjt. Gen. 



Headquarters, Department of the East, 
New York, February , 1864. 
Brigadier General James B. Fry, 

Provost Marshal General, Washington, D. C: 

Sir — In. reply to your communication of February 8th, I have 
the honor to state the following in relation to the recruiting in 
this city, at Lafayette Hall, under the superintendence of Brig. 
Gen. F. B. Spinola, U. S. Vols. 

In the latter part of November, a great many complaints were 
made to Major General Dix, in reference to the manner in which 
enlistments were made. These complainants were generally the 
father, mother, sister, brother, or some near relation, and in the 
case of negroes, their employers. They stated that the recruits 
had been swindled out of nearly all of their bounties by brokers, 
who carried on their business openly at Lafayette Hall ; that 
these brokers would tell the recruits that they would give them 
the remainder of their bounties when they arrived at Riker's 
IfiTand, but in no instance did the recruits receive it. 

In some case negroes were taken there with the understanding 
that they were to be hired as hostlers to take care of some gentle- 



10 [Senate 

man's horse. Such was the case of Anthony Riker, William alias 
Joseph White, Evart D. Keaton, (cases before a general court 
martial for the trial of Lieut. Cole, the mustering officer,) and 
many others. The affidavits in the cases have been sent to the 
War Department. In all these cases (Riker, White and Keaton), 
they testified that they were taken to Lafayette Hall to become 
hostlers, and not for the purpose of becoming soldiers. That in 
the case of Riker, he was promised $25 a month ; he signed his 
name to some papers which he thought was the contract; that he 
was not sworn into the service of the United States; and had no 
idea lie was a soldier until he started to go away, when the guard 
stopped him. They (brokers) gave him but $14. The cases of 
White and Keaton are the same. The mustering officer did not 
explain anything to them. On the 28th of November, Vincent 
Ruelland, a sailor of the French corvette " Tissiphone," then 
lying in the harbor of New York, was drugged by them, and 
taken to Lafayette Hall, and, while drunk, was enlisted. On the 
27th November, L'Hote and Angel, sailors, of the same vessel, 
were made drunk, and taken by brokers to Lafayette Hall, and 
enlisted. These men could not speak a word of English, and 
were so drunk that they could hardly stand, and their signatures 
to their enlistment papers will prove conclusively that they were 
drunk. They were in almost full uniform. After this happened, 
complaints were made to us by the French Consul in this city. 
1 was sent by General Dix to go to Lafayette Hall, and see how 
they done business. I went, I think, on or about the last of 
November 29th, perhaps 30th. I was in citizen's dress, for I 
did not wish them to know me. I saw a great crowd of brokers, 
who seemed to have full sway. A few days after this I went 
there again, but as soon as I had entered the room I heard some 
one screaming. I went immediately to the place from whence it 
proceeded, which was near the desks where the mustering was 
going on, I found there a negro boy about 18 to 20 years of age, 
being held by some men dressed in uniform and whom I took to 
be guards. I had already received complaints of men being en- 
listed there against their will, and took this to be one of the 
same. I considered it my duty to throw off all disguise, and 
prevenl it if such was the case. I went to the soldiers who were 
holding him and asked what they were doing to the boy. They 
said it was none of my business. I then told them who I was, 
and ordered them to let the negro loose. I then asked the negro 



No. 93.] 11 

what they were going to do with him; he said that they were 
trying to make him enlist as a soldier, and that he did not wish 
to be one. I then told an officer who was present, (I do not 
know his name,) and I thought on duty, to have the negro sent 
away, which he did. No one paid any attention to this, for by 
the way they acted it seemed to be a common occurrence. The 
screams of the negro could be easily heard on the street. I left 
immediately and reported the fact to head quarters. I testified 
to all this on the court martial in the case of Lieut. Cole. He 
brought General Spinola and Captain Hanley, A. A. general of 
his staff to testify that they remembered this circumstance, and 
they testified that it took place in the latter part of December, 
certainly after the 24th. I testified that it took place before the 
11th of December, and I thought about three or four days after 
my first visit. I did not see General Spinola on this occasion, 
as he said I did. I remember the case which he refers to, but 
but it was a different one from which I testified to. 

At another time, I do not remember the day of the month, but 
was in December, (I took note of this with the names and day 
of the month,) I saw General Spinola, in person, swear a recruit 
who was so much under the influence of liquor that he could 
hardly stand. I saw the man's condition before he was sworn 
in, and kept back so I would see if they would swear him in 
that condition ; and as soon as I saw General Spinola swearing 
him in (in person), I went up close, (he did not see me), and 
heard all that was said. The man was not asked if he wanted 
to be a soldier ; his hand was held up while the oath was being 
read, but he made no reply to it for his condition was such that 
he could not understand. I said nothing to General Spinola in 
reference to this. On the same day I saw a person on the bench 
about 17 to 19 years of age, who was about five feet high. 
When the papers were brought up, enlistment papers, the boy's 
height was put down, as General Spinola said, as five feet two 
inches. He ordered the orderly to have the boy measured again. 
1 went and saw him measured without General Spinola seeing 
The boy measured four feet ten and a half inches, and he moved 
his head easily under this measure. He was then taken back to 
General Spinola, and the man said he measured about five feet 
two. General Spinola said put him down five feet three, I reckon 
he is that. The mustering; officer would ask the recruit in some 
case, " are you satisfied with your bounty that you have ?" and 



12 [Senate 

they would say yes, for the brokers told them that they were en- 
titled to only so much, and the mustering officer did not tell 
them as a general thing how much they were entitled to, but 
simply asked the question "have you received your bounty and 
are you satisfied with it ?" The negroes who were going as 
hostlers, did not know what this meant. I spoke to General 
Spinola on several occasions in reference to this. He said he 
did not care whether a recruit received a cent or not, and he 
woul 1 take a man if he did not get a cent. Hawley D. Clapp 
had a man in Lafayette Hall to cash the assignment papers of 
the brokers. This man had a clerk, and I did not know until 
some time after my first visit, that this man (C. B. Ellsworth), 
was not employed by the Government to pay bounties. This 
man testified in the court that he was employed by Hawley D. 
Clapp to cash these papers. 

Patrick Burns testified that Hawley D. Clapp made from $25 
to $50 off of each recruit's papers, on an average about $50, and 
that the brokers made $100 ; such is not the case, for all the 
affidavits will show that they made almost $200, and in some 
cases 320 odd dollars. Anthony Riker only received $14; Joseph 
White (alias William), $40 ; Vincent Ruelland $1 (one) ; Charles 
S. Rone (Rosey), $40 ; Evart D. Keaton $25, and John Santo 
none. Santo belongs to the 10th U. S. infantry, (a musician); 
he had a furlough, came to New York from his regiment at Fort 
Lafayette, was made drunk by some runner, taken to Lafayette 
Hall, and was enlisted. He had his furlough in his pocket. He 
does not recollect anything from the time that he was made 
drunk until he found himself on Riker's island, two days after- 
wards. All the affidavits will prove that the recruits as a gen- 
eral thing receive but about fifty dollars, and Jthat the brokers 
were always encouraged. The brokers Avould tell the men (re- 
cruits), that they would pay them the remainder as soon as mus- 
tered. All the mustering officers and General Spinola knew of 
this swindling, for the name of Lafayette Hall and its swindling, 
was a byword in .the mouth of every one. General Spinola was 
present during the day from 12 M. until night, lie saw drunken 
men daily in the hall, and on the eve of being mustered. Yet 
these men were never sent away, but were mustered. I know of 
several cases where he saw me, and sent the drunken men away, 
yet I never saw a case where a man was not mustered because 
he was drunk, unless some of the officers of Lafayette Hall saw 



No. 93.] 13 

me there. I noticed this fact in particular. I have seen many 
men mustered who were under the influence of liquor. When I 
was there in disguise, for the first three or four times and before 
my face was familiar, to see drunken men awaiting to be mustered 
was anything but common. But when my face was known the 
men would be hurried out and kept there until I left, and I sup- 
pose they were then brought back and mustered. I never saw 
the men (recruits), questioned properly; thy were intimidated 
by the brokers, and the brokers were assisted in this by the va- 
rious officers at Lafayette Hall. P. B. Marsh (late detective to 
Brig. Gen. Hays), testified that he went to see General Spinola 
in the case of Vincent Ruelland. He asked him (General Spi- 
nola), if it was not the duty of the mustering officer, when the 
party (recruit), could not read, to read the enlistment papers to 
him, that he (recruit), might know what he was signing. Gen- 
eral said, "Damn it, if we did that we conld not recruit twenty 
men a day." I (Marsh), then asked him how it was in the case 
of the French sailor, Ruelland, that could neither read, write or 
understand a word of English? he (Spinola), said "Oh, damn it, he 
signs his name." About the first part of January last, while pass- 
ing along by the Metropolitan hotel, which is nearly opposite to 
Lafayette Hall, I saw a boy, apparently about eighteen years of 
age, coming down the street, (Broadway). He was seized by two 
runners, (one taking him by the feet and the other by the body,) 
who tried to carry him across to Lafayette Hall. They had got 
as far with him as the middle of the street, when his cries and 
screams attracted so many persons that the runners dropped 
him and ran into Lafayette Hall. Colonel Van Buren, Asst. Adj. 
General to the head-quarters, Dept. of the East, witnessed a simi- 
lar occurrence in the passage way of Lafayette Hall, and made 
the parties release the man. The sentinel who was stationed 
at the door paid no attention to this, for the reason that it must 
have been a common thing. I have received complaints of par- 
ties (negroes), who were taken by force to Lafayette Hall and 
confined there under guard, and did not receive anything to eat 
until they consented to enlist as a soldier. 

These complaints have been sent to the War Department in the 
form of affidavits. 

Major Halpine, of General Dix's staff, has also made a state- 
ment which is enclosed. I also forward the letter of Mr. Schultz 
and detective Kelsy, which will give some information. I would 



14 [Senate 

suggest that Brig. Gen. Hays, provost marshal of New York, 
could, I think, give a great deal of information. The enlist- 
ments as carried on at Lafayette Hall, is in the mouths of every 
one, and with the information now before you I think that it 
will not require much thought as to who are the guilty parties. 
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obd't serv't, 
(Signed,) WRIGHT RIVES, 

Capt. and A. D. C. 
Official copy. 

Chas. G. Halpine, Major and Asst. Adj. Gen. 



Office of Superint 
300 Mulberry 



TENDENT OF THE METROPOLITAN POLICE, ? 

Street, New York, FiVy 17 th, 1864. } 



Major General John A. Dix, New York: 

Sir — In reply to your enquiry of yesterday I have to state, 
that the person Theodore Allen, has been known to the police of 
this city, for at least ten years; his reputation in the force is that 
of a thief, but he has never been convicted, although arrested 
and held several times. He was lieutenant in the 25th Regiment, 
N. Y. S. Vols., Col. Kerrigan, and served his time out. On his 
return he opened a gambling house in Greene street, and subse- 
quently engaged in the substitute brokerage business. 

Very respectfully yours, 
(Signed,) JOHN A. KENNEDY, 

Superintendent. 

Headquarters, Department of the East, ) 
April 12th, 1864. ) 

A true copy. 

D. T. Van Buren, Col. and A. A. G. 



He 

N 



■-ADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE EaST, ) 

\ T r.\v York City, February ISth, 1SG4. ) 



To Major General John A. Dix : 

General — During the progress of the investigation as to the 
conduct of affairs at Lafayette Hall, made by me, under your in- 
structions, I was waited upon by General Spinola, who volun- 
teered a statement in explanation and vindication of the manner 
n which recruits had been enlisted at that place. This stato- 
i 



No 93.] 15 

ment was volunteered on the part of General Spinola, and was 
by me deemed so important that I took down on paper, notes of 
its most important points, as he spoke, begging him to talk 
slowly and pause at the end of each sentence, until I had so re- 
corded his words. Of that statement, in its more important 
features, the following is a synopsis. 

General Spinola's Statement. 

Bad as things are in New York, they are much worse in the 
New England States. My object is to fill my brigade, and with- 
out the help of the brokers this cannot be done. In New Eng- 
land, the towns, cities and counties take an assignment of the 
United States bounty and State bounty from the recruit, cash 
them, and give the whole to the brokers. They are not particu- 
lar as to whom, or what class of men they take, their object 
being to fill up their quota. Thus a Mr. James Lee, a broker at 
Lafayette Hall, had three men rejected by my examining surgeon, 
whom he subsequently took east, and, on his return, told me that 
he had cleared $1,250 on them. In this manner recruits are 
taken away from New York at the rate of from 100 to 150 per 
diem. Not long ago a broker brought down from Dunkirk 28 men, 
and offered them at Lafayette Hall. On being told that (owing 
to investigations that were being made) he would have to pay 
the $300 county bounty into each man's hands, this broker replied: 
"I spent $1,200 and three weeks of my time getting them — how 
am I to get paid? " He then took them east and will, doubtless, 
receive for each of them a full county, State and United States 
bounty, somewhere between $700 and $800, less the sum of $125 
per man, which they had agreed to take. These cases are of 
daily occurence. General Spinola knows of a casein Brooklyn, 
where a person, called Hand, had his son taken from him, only 
fifteen years of age. The broker took him to New Hampshire, 
and came home in a few days with $450, and the boy sent home 
$200. The General says that, he has cases every day where re- 
cruits refuse, peremptorily, to take more than $150, even when 
offered, and pressed to receive the whole amount. They say, "No, 
we have $150 and will receive $300 more on Biker's Island, and 
we do not want any more; we prefer to give away the balance." 
Had one case a few days ago in which a boy received $100 from 
the broker, the broker keeping $200 for himself. This boy 
wanted to pay him $50 more, only leaving himself $50. He was 



16 [Senate 

forcibly restrained from doing so by the officers in Lafayette Hall, 
but he rolled up a fifty dollar bill, and threw it over the railing 
to the broker, insisting that he wanted to give it to him. This 
boy while doing this was, in General Spinola's judgment, perfectly 
sober. 

A gang of sharpers have enlisted, and are now on Riker's Island 
for gambling purposes, and they "skin" fellows of every cent 
they bring there. There is a great deal of gambling on Riker's 
Island. 

General Spinola says that he tried hard, at first, to get the re- 
cruits paid by they supervisors' committee, but they were kept 
there all day, and sent away without their money ; the offices 
were so far apart (i. e. Lafayette Hall from the county court 
rooms) that it would have taken a detail of 500 soldiers to carry 
the recruits to and fro. 

General Spinola has seen Supervisor Orison Blunt advance, 
out of his own pocket, the money to start fresh volunteer brokers, 
taking their due bills for its payment. He has heard Blunt say, 
repeatedly, in the presence of Hawley D. Clapp, himself and 
others, that, "he did not care a damn if the recruit did not get 
$5 ; what he wanted was to fill the quota, and get rid of the 
damned draft." Blunt gives the papers, (see Appendix A and B) 
authorizing these brokerages to everybody, and anybody who 
will apply. They are printed certificates of muster, to be signed 
by the mustering officer, and an assignment of bounty to the 
broker, to be signed by the recruit. There is another assignment 
from the broker to Orison Blunt, who, on this latter document, 
draws money from the comptroller. 

General Spinola has no doubt that very many payments have 
been made on forged papers by the county committee. It is easy. 
There is only one name to be really forged — that of the muster- 
ing officer, with whose signature it is impossible for Mr. Blunt, 
or those acting in his behalf, to be very well acquainted. The 
other signature upon the paper, that of the recruit, there is no 
means whatever of verifying. 

It has also to General Spinola's knowledge been a common 
practice to change men between Lafayfette Hall and Riker's 
Island. The brokers present a man who is rejected, having all 
his papers, however, duly made out before presentation. They 
then send in a second, sound and healthy man, under the same 
name, have him passed by the doctor, and then between Lafayette 



No. 93.] 17 

Hall and Riker's Island, by the connivance of the guard, or 
otherwise, substitute the rejected man for the sound man ; and 
this has taken place repeatedly. He has now one case in which 
he knows this to have been done, and in which he is endeavoring 
to cause the arrest of the party engaged in the swindle. 

The appointment of Hawley D. Clapp to be chief broker at 
Lafayette Hall took place in this way. When General Spinola 
found that the supervisors would not or could not pay the $300 
county bounty to each recruit, he said to Mr. Clapp, " Here is a 
good thing," and gave to him and his clerks permission to have 
an office, with desks, tables, &c, in Lafayette Hall. Clapp only 
takes as his share, in each case, the $15 recruiting fee, as pay- 
ment for the loan of the $300 until such time as he can get the 
assignment cashed by Mr. Blunt. Is of the opinion that the 
board of supervisors w T ill insist upon its going on in just this way. 

General Spinola says that he was not satisfied with the man- 
ner in which one of the doctors in Brooklyn did business ; that 
he knows he was in the habit of signing certificates of physical 
fitness in blank, and allowing them to be filled up by his assist- 
ant ; did not like this assistant ; thought he was " on the make," 
and passed men for money paid by the brokers ; he did not how- 
ever arrest either the doctor or his assistant ; has now at his 
house one of these certificates, signed in blank by this doctor ; 
thinks that if the broker system be broken up that recruiting 
will come to a Tlead halt ; claims that of the 2,000 men enlisted 
at Lafayette Hall, previous to this statement, they have aver- 
aged a receipt of $100 per man; thinks $200 for the broker not 
too much, as they have in some cases to bring the recruits from 
Canada, New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere ; is 
satisfied further that it is not for the good of recruits to have 
much money paid to them, as they will only buy whiskey with it 
and get intoxicated. 

The General desires that I should see Brig. Gen. Nelson Tay- 
lor, Lieut. Col. Daniel Mann, and some other officers, who have 
been cognizant of the mode of doing business at Lafayette Hall, 
whom he would send to me. He expresses anxiety that this re- 
port should be fairly made, as, otherwise, it might injure his 
standing as an officer. If he has committed any errors they 
have arisen solely from his desire to fill up his brigade as rapidly 
as possible, in order that he might return to the field. 

[Senate, No. 93.J 2 



18 [Senate 

I have further to report, that I had interviews with Mr. Haw- 
ley D. Clapp, Captain Hanley, assistant adjutant general to Gen- 
eral Spinola and mustering officer at Lafayette Hall, Lieut. Col. 
Daniel Mann, and several other officers detailed on recruiting 
service at Lafayette Hall, sent by General Spinola to offer their 
testimony. 

In their statements there was, apparently, full corroboration 
of all of General Spinola's views in reference to the matter, but 
no new facts of sufficient importance to claim special attention. 
I have the honor to be, General, 

your obdt. servant, 

CHAS. G. HALPINE, 
Major and A. A. Gen. 



Heauquarters, Department of the East, ? 
New York City, February 22, 1864. \ 

Brig. Gen. G. I. Stannard, 

Commanding U. S. Troops N. Y. City and Harbor: 

General — I am commanded by Major General John A. Dix to 
direct that you will take charge of Mr. Hawley D. Clapp, and 
confine him within Fort Lafayette, pending further orders from 
the War Department in his case. 

The charges against Mr. Clapp go to show that he has been 
portion of a system by which thousands of recruits have been 
grossly and scandalously defrauded of their bounty money, at 
Lafayette Hall, and under which unfit men, drunken men, and 
men suffering under insensibility produced by opium, have been 
illegally sworn into the service of the United States, and then 
defrauded of their bounty. 

I have the honor to be, General, 

Your very obd't serv't, 
(Signed,) CHAS. G. HALPINE, 

Major and A. A. Gen. 

P. S. By further command of General Dix, General Stannard 
will immediately place Mr. Hawley D. Clapp under charge of an 
officer, who will be responsible for his delivery at Fort Lafay- 
ette before sundown this evening. The officer in charge will 
allow Mr. Clapp to make such purchases as appear necessary, 



No. 93.] 19 

and also to visit his counsel, Mr. James M. Smith, in Chambers 
street, but to make no other visit. 

Very obediently, 
(Signed,) CHAS. G. HALPINE, 

Maj. and A. A. Gen. 
Official copy. 

Chas. G. Halpine, Maj. and A. A. Gen. 



Headquarters, Draft Rendezvous, 
Riker's Island, N. Y. H., Feb. 29, 1864. 

General — I have the honor to make the following statements 
concerning the affidavits of recruits, which have been taken at 
these headquarters during the past three months. 

In the month of December there was a continual stream of com- 
plaints from the men relative to their bounties ; some in the form 
of written communications, some verbal statements through their 
company and battalion commanders, and many through the pro- 
vost marshal. At first these complaints were not much noticed, 
because it was not clear how the evil could be remedied here. 
The men appeared on the rolls as having been properly enlisted, 
and there was nothing beyond their own statements to show that 
they had not received the full bounty to which they were enti- 
tled. However, the complaints soon became so numerous that 
the practice of taking affidavits was begun, although with little 
expectation of recovering the bounties of which it was evident 
so many had been robbed. 

The applicants to have their affidavits taken steadily increased 
in number, and a special clerical force was employed on this 
work. It is no exaggeration to say that the office was frequently 
thronged with recruits, anxiously waiting an opportunity to 
make their statements. Frequently civilians came to the island 
in search of relations that had been missed* and when found 
would bring them to the office, and solicit for them the privi- 
lege of making their statements. And, in this connection, the 
fact may be stated, as it indicates the kind of recruits that were 
being furnished there, that the father sought and found his miss- 
ing son, and the son his missing father. 

The tenor of these affidavits was generally the same, fraudu- 
lent enlistment of recruits, and little or no bounties paid them. 
The amount of treachery and baseness which they disclose seems 



20 [Senate 

almost incredible. Persons who supposed they were hiring them- 
selves to a few months service as waiters, coachmen, sailors and 
mechanics, suddenly found themselves bound to a three years' 
term of military service. Many, who had been drugged, could 
tell nothing of their enlistment, and were wholly unable to ac- 
count for the suit of blue in which they were clothed. Many re- 
ceived a small part of the $300 bounty, and were told that the 
remainder would be paid at Riker's island, 

It is impossible to state the exact number of affidavits which 
have been taken, for the records contain notice only of those 
which were forwarded to the headquarters of Maj. General Dix 
and Brig. General Hays. Many affidavits were taken and for- 
warded by mail to the friends and relatives of the recruits, and 
in many cases delivered to them personally at the office. The 
number however is large, and may be safely stated at hundreds. 

In the beginning the direct object of taking the affidavits was 
to recover the bounty ; and, therefore, many cases were passed 
by as hopeless ; for instance, cases where the recruit had no 
clear knowledge of the circumstances of his enlistment, and could 
give neither names nor localities ; so that, the actual number of 
affidavits taken, even though reaching hundreds, can but par- 
tially show how great a wrong has been done. 

I am, General, very respectfully, 

Your obdt. servt., 
(Signed,) R. C. SHANNON, 

Capt. and A. A. G. 
Brig. Gen. N. J. Jackson, Commanding Draft Rendezvous, Riker's 

Island, JV. Y. H. 

Official copy. 
Chas. G. Halfine, Major and A. A. G. 



• Headquarters, Draft Rendezvous, ) 

Riker's Island, N. Y. Harbor, FeVy 29, 1864. \ 

Major — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
communication of the 18th instant, requesting a statement of my 
views as to the past system of obtaining recruits at Lafayette 
Hall under General Spinola, the quality of the men furnished 
under that system, their condition, spirit, and any other facts 
which may be regarded in this connection as of public interest. 

In reply, I have the honor to state, that my only means of 



No. 93.] 21 

judging the system is by the recruits furnished under it, and 
judging by the recruits, I should unhesitatingly say, that the 
system which is attended with such results must ? be radically 
wrong, and if allowed to continue would become nothing less 
than an outrage on the community, and a disgrace to the Govern- 
ment. I derive this opinion from a comparison of the recruits 
furnished under that system with those that are received now. 

Upon carefully examining the records, I find that during the 
month of December last, there were received at this rendezvous 
on the average of eighty-one recruits per diem, and that during 
the present month of February, there have been received on the 
average one hundred and twenty-one per diem, being an increase 
of about 50 per cent. 

Under the system of recruiting which prevailed during the 
month of December last, more young boys and old men were 
received than now, more men came to the island drugged and 
intoxicated than now, and finally, (which is the best test of any 
system of recruiting), the number of strong, healthy able-bodied 
men that came was very much less than now. This shows that 
if the system in question is not bad, there can be few others 
worse. 

Again, I am forced to this opinion, by the statements of the 
men themselves, made under oath, all of the same general char- 
acter, telling of fraudulent enlistments and little or no bounties 
received. On this point, I would respectfully call your attention 
to the accompanying report of Capt. Shannon, A. A. G., with the 
additional remark, that the practice of taking affidavits has now 
almost entirely ceased, for obvious reasons. 

I am, Major, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed,) N. J. JACKSON, 

Brig. Gen. Vols. 

Official copy. 

Chas. G. Halpine, Major and JlssH Adft Gen. 



To the Hon. the Senate : 

The petition of Hawley D. Clapp, of the town of Mamaroneck, 
in the county of Westchester, in the State of New York, now 
confined as a prisonar in Fort Lafayette, respectfully represents : 
That he is not now and has not been engaged in or connected 



22 [Senate 

with the military authorities of this State or of the United States. 
That he has not held at any time office under the General Gov- 
ernment, or nad any contracts with the Government. That he 
has not been guilty of any crime or offence against the laws of 
the State, or of the United States. That he has not been ar- 
rested upon any process issued out of any State or Federal court ; 
but that such arrest and imprisonment is by virtue of an order 
issued by Major General Dix. 

And your petitioner further shows, that on the 17th day of 
February, 1864, he was arrested and imprisoned in Fort Lafayette, 
where he has since remained in confinement, subjected to the 
same treatment and indignities inflicted and imposed upon trait- 
ors and pirates. And your petitioner further shows, that he 
has been informed that such imprisonment and indignities are 
imposed and inflicted upon him to extort from him information 
which it is alleged he possesses, though your petitioner has re- 
peatedly averred, and still avers, that he does not possess the 
information that is attempted to be extorted from him by these 
inquisitorial acts ; and that he has offered to answer under oath 
any interrogatories relating to his alleged knowledge. That he 
has repeatedly demanded a hearing upon the charges against 
him, which hearing has been refused. That he has offered good 
and sufficient bail to appear and answer any charges against him, 
and that such offer has been refused. And your petitioner, as a 
loyal citizen that was never accused of crime, claims the protec- 
tion of the law of this State, and invokes your honorable body 
to take some measures that will secure him his constitutional 
rights and shield him from unjust oppression. 

HAWLEY D. CLAPP. 

New York, Jpril 5, 1864. 



: 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



III I 



II llll i I i III I n 

013 703 701 4 



